Thursday, February 3, 2011

While doing some freelance work up in snowy Toronto this past January, my friend and colleague, artist Kelly Houghton, and I took a ceramics class at the Gardiner Museum.

Finger relief vessels that I made. Photo by K. Houghton.

Working with clay. Photo by K. Houghton.

Kelly and her textured vase.

Close-up of Kelly's work. Photo by K. Houghton.

And here are my cups after the clay was fired:

I wanted the vessel to be sort of an extension of the hand when held. I was going to mold a lip print into the edge of the vessel but I didn't get the effect I was looking for, so nixed that. I like how the finished work gives the illusion of being soft and squished when held with my fingers in their relief cavities.

I think this class might have been the first time I've worked with clay, at least from what I can recall (perhaps in art school although no memory of it stands out). I enjoyed it immensely; I especially got lost in smoothing the clay, an act which lulled me even more than drawing repetitive lines.

About Me

Carla Hernandez was born in Newark, New Jersey and currently lives and works in New York. She received her BA in Visual Art from Rutgers University. Hernandez has exhibited in exhibitions at galleries and alternative spaces in New York and New Jersey including Mason Gross School of the Arts Galleries, Kenkeleba Gallery, ABC No Rio and SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery. In 2010 she was awarded an Artist’s Grant for an April 2011 studio residency at the Vermont Studio Center and in summer 2012, received a studio fellowship from SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery.​
All images belong to Carla Hernandez unless otherwise indicated/credited.